City law firms risk losing talent unless they reduce swelling workloads, research shows January 15, 2023 British law firms could struggle to retain talent if they do not ease workloads that are pushing burnout rates higher, new research reveals. Nearly two in three of UK legal professionals have experienced burnout as a result of their work despite the sector stepping mental health support, a new survey out earlier this week of [...]
Recession to end City’s legal sector pay war, recruiters warn January 15, 2023 A drop in legal sector revenues is likely see the end of the pay war that has played out between the City’s top law firms over the past two years, legal sector recruiters have said. Falling revenues off the back of a slowdown in new business will likely see lawyers’ salaries plateau or even go [...]
Wedlake Bell’s rising star on how tech is changing they way City law firms work January 13, 2023 Technology is increasingly changing the way we work, and law firms are no exception. Innovation and new technical solutions are rapidly penetrating the City’s legal powerhouses. At the same time, barristers and other lawyers feel they are not compensated sufficiently for the hard work they put in, prompting thousands to strike earlier this year. To [...]
City law firms may be forced to make layoffs as UK downturn hits, recruiters say January 11, 2023 The City’s top law firms could soon be set to follow their US counterparts in laying off staff, recruiters have said. The UK’s corporate law firms may be forced to make lawyers redundant due to the wider economic downturn and a lull in M&A activity, recruiters told City PM Scot Gibson, director of legal sector [...]
Dechert hires ‘high stakes’ litigator to fight journalist’s ‘hack-and-smear’ lawsuit January 10, 2023 US law firm Dechert has hired “high-stakes” litigator Kaplan, Hecker & Fink to defend it from being sued by a former Wall Street Journal reporter, over claims it hired hackers to tarnish his reputation and push him out of a job. Dechert is being sued by the WSJ’s former chief foreign correspondent, Jay Solomon, over [...]
Pinsent Masons ramps up its ESG presence with latest acquisition January 10, 2023 Pinsent Masons today acquired sustainable finance consultancy Morgan Green Advisory (MGA) as the London law firm seeks to capitalise on surging demand for ESG advice. The law firm’s acquisition for an undisclosed sum will see MGA’s 25 expert consultants join Pinsent Masons’ 2,500-strong international team. The London firm’s decision to snap up MGA comes as [...]
EXCL – ‘Trainee train drivers get £24k, double the starting income of advocates’, says City legal whizz January 10, 2023 Technology is increasingly changing the way we work, and law firms are no exception. Innovation and new technical solutions are rapidly penetrating the City’s legal powerhouses and this process will only accelerate in 2023. At the same time, barristers and other lawyers feel they are not compensated sufficiently for the hard work they put in, [...]
Barclays, NatWest and HSBC increasingly targeted by litigation funders in wave of class-action lawsuits January 9, 2023 The UK’s top banks are increasingly being targeted with class-action lawsuits as litigation funders back claims against some of Britain’s largest lenders in their pursuit of high returns. Banks listed on the FTSE 100 index are currently facing at least 109 class-action lawsuits in multiple countries around the world, according to analysis by law firm [...]
UK class-action lawsuits against Google, Apple and Sony see value of competition claims surge to £26bn January 9, 2023 The value of UK competition class-actions surged last year, according to new data published today, following the filing of a series of multi-billion-pound claims against some of the world’s biggest tech companies, including Apple, Google and Sony. The value of class-action lawsuits filed in the UK over claims around anti-competitive behaviour surged six-fold over the [...]
Divorce Day: As couples prepare to lawyer-up, we ask an expert how to separate well January 6, 2023 As if the first Monday back after Christmas wasn’t depressing enough, 9 January is also known in family law circles as “Divorce Day”. The stresses of Christmas prove too much for some relationships and this is the time of year when couples lawyer up and begin working on their marriage exit strategies. Still, there are [...]
